Teenage Rebellion by Harliquinn
by Harliquinn
Summary: River is going through a rebellious stage, and Mal isn't quite sure how to handle it. Will contain disciplinary spanking in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

TEENAGE REBELLION

By: Harliquinn

Several years ago (more than I care to remember) I wrote several _Highlander_ fanfics, but never journeyed outside of that universe. Lately, I've been getting the urge to visit with the cast and characters from _Firefly_. This is my first foray into _Firefly_ fan fiction. Hopefully, I have and will remain true to the characters as they act the little play I have envisioned for them. I don't own any of the _Firefly _universe or its characters, and hope Joss Whedon and Tim Minear don't mind me playing in their sandbox for a while.

This story takes place after the series and the feature movie, _Serenity_, and contains spoilers for both. While knowledge of the background might be helpful, it isn't necessary to follow the story.

The premise is that after the events in _Serenity_, River becomes a bit rebellious, and Malcolm doesn't quite know how to deal with it. The story will contain the disciplinary spanking of a teenager in later chapters. You have been warned, so if you don't like it, don't read it.

Any feedback and constructive criticism you wish to give would be greatly appreciated.

* * * * *

Chapter 1

"Sir." Zoe caught Mal's attention as he exited the engine room, where he had spent the last several minutes arguing with Kaylee about the latest part she wanted to purchase for one of _Serenity's_ many mechanical workings.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds shook his head and looked back over his shoulder at the door to the engine room. He thought of Kaylee as a member of his family – the little sister he'd never had. In one way or another, each member of the crew of _Serenity_ were his family. "One of these days, Zoe. One of these days, she's going to push me too far." He turned and looked at Zoe Washburn, his second in command and, in many ways his confidant. "What do you need?"

Zoe fell into step beside Mal and together they walked down the hallway into the ship's galley. "Sir, you've got to do something about River."

Mal stopped and turned to look at Zoe. "What's the Lil' Albatross done this time?" River Tam was a seventeen year old genius who had come onboard the ship the year before along with her older brother, Simon. Dr. Simon Tam had given up a promising career as a trauma surgeon at one of the Alliance's top medical centers to rescue his sister from and Alliance run academy that served as a front for a military lab that turned human beings into weapons. No one was really sure what had been done to River at the academy, but by the time Simon had rescued her, she had been driven insane. She's come onto _Serenity_ as a jumble-mind, barely coherent piece of humanity. Mal had learned long ago to lock his heart and his feelings away from the eyes of those around him, but he had developed a soft spot for young River. It was true that she had been turned into a human weapon and developed into a strong mind-reader. It was also true that when the secret behind the creation of the Reavers on Miranda had been discovered and revealed to the universe, something had changed in River. While not completely sane, and still with her warrior abilities and mind reading skills, she was quite a bit more coherent. In fact, Mal and Zoe had been grooming River to take over as ship's pilot. The position had been left vacant when Zoe's husband had been killed during their attempt to reach Mr. Universe and broadcast the truth about Miranda over the cortex.

"I found her on the bridge. She'd reprogrammed all of the information to display in … well, I think it's French."

A rash of pranks had been plaguing the crew of _Serenity_ for the last few weeks, all of which had been traced back to River Tam. Mal could put up with the occasional prank. Hell, he'd been known to pull a prank or two himself. But, River's pranks had been growing steadily more annoying and were beginning to approach being dangerous. He didn't know what had gotten into the girl, but he had a feel he was going to have to find out soon.

"You tell her to change it back?"

"I did." Zoe hooked her thumbs in the belt loops at her waist. "She looked right at me and told me she didn't have to, and I couldn't make her do it. I tried to reason with her that I had to be able to read the displays. She then said she could read it just find, so why did it matter that no one else could."

Mal sighed heavily and rubbed his hands up and down his face. _Zoe was right_, he thought. _He was definitely going to have to do something about River. Things were starting to get out of hand._ "I'll go talk to her."

Zoe caught Mal's arm as he passed. "You're going to have to do more than talk to her, Captain. You've tried that before and it didn't work. She's going to end up getting someone hurt if she isn't stopped soon."

"Yeah, I know," Mal sighed again. "I just wish I knew what I should do." He clinched his right hand into a fist and rubbed his left hand over his knuckles. "If it were Jayne, or even Simon, I know what I'd do." Both hands dropped to his sides. "But, I can't take that approach with River. I'm going to have to conjure on that awhile."

"Don't take too long, Sir." Zoe stepped past Mal and started down the hallway. Mal watched until she stepped into the ship's galley, then turned to make his way up to the bridge. As he approached the bridge he heard the angry shouts of Jayne Cobb, the ship's resident mercenary and weapons expert, mixed in with those of River.

"Whatta you mean you ain't gonna change the display back? How in the _gorram_ hell am I supposed to know you ain't programmed this thing to fly into the nearest asteroid?"

"I can kill you with just my mind. Why would I want to fly the ship into an asteroid to do that. Besides, there aren't any asteroids anywhere near here."

"I don't care if there ain't any asteroids within a hunnert miles of here. Change it back"

"No."

Just as Mal stepped onto the bridge he heard Jayne growl and saw him take a step toward River. "_Bizui! _What in the _gorram_ hell is going on here?" Mal demanded.

"She's done mucked with the controls. All the data is being displayed in some foreign language." Jayne gestured River, who was sitting at the co-pilot's control station. Her small feet were perched on the edge of her seat, and her knees were tucked up under her chin. Her slender arms were wrapped around her knees, her hands folded. In short, she looked as innocent as an angel – except for the sly smile on her face.

"I have no idea what he's talking about, Captain." River sat up and lowered her feet to the floor in a movement so fluid that neither Jayne nor Mal had seen her brush the control that changed the data displays back to their usual mix of English and Chinese. "I haven't done anything. I promise." She stood as Mal, with a hard glare at Jayne which told the large man to stay exactly where he was, approached the control panel.

Mal looked at the control panel and saw that everything, was, indeed, as it was supposed to be. He turned his glare on River. "If you ain't done anything, why are Jayne and Zoe both sayin' you did?"

River shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe they are both hallucinating. They should go have Simon check them out. Could be something serious." She sent a concerned look in Jayne's direction, then turned to look at Mal with her most innocent smile on her face.

"No. You did something, alright. I just don't know what." Mal turned to Zoe, who had just entered the bridge. "Zoe, come check and make sure all the coordinates are right and that we're still on course for Boros. Jayne, go make yourself busy somewhere else." He turned and leveled a hard look at River. "You, young lady, go to your room and wait for me there. We're going to have a serious discussion about all of these pranks you've been pulling."

"But, I haven't done anything," River pleaded again.

"You keep tellin' yourself that, and maybe you'll start to believe it." Mal grabbed River gently by the upper arm and gave her a slight shove toward the door. "If you know what's good for you, you'd better be waitin' for me in your room when I come lookin' for you. _Dong-ma?_" He watched as River gave him a sharp salute, a pout on her face, stomped out of the room, pausing only to punch Jayne hard in the arm as she passed him.

"Ouch, _gorramit_ River!" Jayne started to follow the girl and exact some measure of revenge for the punch.

"Jayne, let her go." Mal said as he turned back to the control panel. "Zoe, you think you can figure out what she's done."

"Give me a minute, sir." Although she was no computer expert, Zoe knew enough about piloting ships and _Serenity's_ controls that she could tell something wasn't right. She flipped a toggle switch and the display against showed in some foreign language. When the switch was flipped again, the display returned to normal. "I don't know what she did, yet, sir. But she definitely did something." Zoe looked up at Mal, who was leaning against the control panel, his arms crossed against his chest, and his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. "It's going to take me awhile to figure out exactly what she did."

"That's good enough for me." Mal straightened. "See what you can do to figure it out and undo it." He started walking toward the doorway. "I'm going to go have a talk with River." As Mal passed Jayne, who was lounging just inside the doorway, he thought he heard the big man say under his breath, "gotta tan her hide." Mal looked up at Jayne, only to see the big man staring at him. "Maybe."

* * * * *

I hope to have the next chapter posted soon.


	2. Chapter 2

SEE CHAPTER 1 FOR INTRODUCTIONS, DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS

Chapter 2

River sat Indian-style on the bed in her room in the passenger dormitory. Her elbows were propped on her knees, and her head was resting in her hands. She looked like a pouting teenager, resentful at being sent to her room like a child. However, River was thinking and planning.

Her little experiment -- that's how she though of her latest adventure – was coming along just fine. She had started playing little tricks and pranks on the crew of _Serenity_ a few weeks before. They had started out harmless enough, but she had slowly escalated the danger factor. She had to admit that the prank she'd played on Kaylee a few days before had gotten slightly out of hand. After all, she hadn't meant for a fire to be started. She had thought perhaps then, that her experiment had reached its ultimate conclusion, but the Captain had only lectured her about her behavior and responsibilities and ordered her to clean up the kitchen after meal times for the next week.

She couldn't help but wonder what the result of the trick with the control panel would be. River had programmed the data to display in Italian. It was such an arcane language, that she knew nobody on board _Serenity_ but herself would be able to read it. It wasn't as dangerous as everyone made it out to be. It just took a flip of a switch to return the display back to its original setting. After all, the purpose of her experiment wasn't to get anyone hurt. It was to see how far she could push the Captain before he pushed back. While she didn't think that time had come, she knew it was getting close.

* * * * * *

Mal paced the confines of his bunk. He'd gone down there to calm down and to think before he went to deal with River. He knew talking to her and giving her extra chores wasn't working. But, he didn't know what he was going to do with the girl. She'd been severely traumatized, and he didn't want to do something that would push her back over that narrow edge she'd managed to cross.

If Mal didn't know any better, he'd think she was just rebelling. But, that just didn't feel right. His gut told him River was plotting something. He just couldn't figure out what. All he knew was that if River had been male instead of a seeming fragile little girl, he probably would have thrown a punch at her by now. He couldn't do that with River. He stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the small room. Mal hated to admit it, but maybe Jayne had, for once in his life, had a valid point. Maybe it was time to tan River's hide. That would certainly get her attention without doing any permanent damage.

Mal started toward the ladder that led from his bunk into the main corridor. No, he thought. He'd just hold that little gem in reserve. He had another idea to try first.

* * * * * *

River looked up from her pout when Mal knocked on the door to her room and walked in, sliding the door shut behind him. He leaned back against the door jam, crossed his arms over his chest, and leveled a stern look in River's direction.

"What did you do to the control panel, River?"

"I told you, I didn't do anything," she replied. She leaned back against the headboard of her bed and returned Mal's gaze.

"Zoe found the switch to reset the display, so we know you did something." Mal straighten and walked to stand beside River's bed. "I don't appreciate being lied to, River. You've gone too far this time."

River didn't move, but her brain was racing. _Had she really pushed the Captain too far? Had her experiment really reached its conclusion?_

"You are going to march your little butt back up to the bridge and undo whatever it is you did. After that, you are not to set foot on the bridge unless you have my or Zoe's permission." Mal paused a moment so that, hopefully, his next words would carry some weight. "By pulling this latest stunt, you've lost my trust. You have to earn it back."

River hadn't expected that to happen. The tears in her eyes when she looked up at the Captain were genuine. "I'm sorry, Captain. I was just having some fun."

"Well, your little fun could have gotten us all killed. What if Zoe hadn't found the switch in time? If somethin' had happened? We wouldn't know what was goin' on before it was too late." Mal stepped back to open the door. "After you finish on the bridge you're to come back here and think on what coulda gone wrong today. You're grounded. That means for the next week, except for mealtimes and trips to the latrine you pay put in this room."

"I'm givin' you fair warning, River. I've had just about enough of these pranks. You pull another one, and I'll personally see to it that you won't sit comfortably for a week. _Dong le ma?"_

River nodded her head. "Yes, sir." She stood to follow the Captain out of her room and back up to the bridge to undo the changes she had made to the display console. _Maybe her experiment was working after all._

* * * * * *

I'll try to update again soon.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

See Chapter 1 for disclosures and warnings.

WARNING: This chapter contains references to disciplinary spanking. If this offends you, don't read it. You've been warned.

* * * * *

Arrowhead was a thriving settlement on the moon, Medes, one of the outer most moons in the outer rim. Space ships rarely traveled there, but a very successful merchant by the name of Herman Blackthorn had put out word that he was looking for someone to transport cargo to and from Arrowhead. The crew of _Serenity_ had come to Arrowhead to apply for the job. While Mal and Zoe went to meet with Blackthorn, Simon and Kaylee were assigned to replenish supplies. Jane was guarding the ship, and, if she knew was was good for her, River was staying in her room, as ordered.

Two hours after heading out to meet with Blackthorn, Mal and Zoe were heading back to _Serenity_ to prepare the ship and her crew for a visit by their potential employer. Blackthorn had indicated that he was interested in hiring the crew on a trial basis, but wanted to inspect _Serenity_ before making his decision.

"I have a good feeling about this, Zoe." Mal glanced over at this first officer. Her serious expression didn't give any indication that she agreed with the captain.

"If you say so, sir."

"No, I really mean it. I think things are finally startin' to turn around for us." Mal gestured to the busy market through which they were walking and at _Serenity_, which was parked just outside of town. "We'll transport Blackthorn's cargo to Boros and bring his merchandise back. That'll land us a regular run and we . . ." Mal trailed off.

"What is it sir?" Zoe glanced at Mal, concerned about what had distracted him.

"Tell me I ain't seein' what I think I'm seein." Mal pointed toward the open cargo hold door and the slight figure in the bright red dress slipping out of the ship.

Zoe shook her head. "I'm afraid you are, sir – if you're seeing River sneaking out."

"_Da-shiang bao-tsa shr duh lah doo-tze. _Come on, let's go get the little Albatross so I can clip her wings."

They started off in the direction River had been taking when she left _Serenity_, and found her only a few minutes later looking at necklaces on display at a jewelry booth. Mal and Zoe cautiously moved in to flank River.

"I thought I told you to stay in your room." Mal spoke in River's ear as he moved in and grasped her right arm. River caught herself before she attacked in self-defense. After all, she had been anticipating Mal's arrival. She had been reading Mal's mind for the last several minutes and knew exactly where he was and what he was doing. In fact, she had timed her exit from _Serenity_ so that she would be sure he had spotted her leaving the ship.

"Hi, Captain." River turned to smile at Mal.

"Don't 'hi, Captain" me, young lady." Mal grasped her arm and turned her to face him. "You'd better have a damn good explanation for this."

"I was bored and wanted to see the market?" River's statement came out sounding like a hopeful question.

Mal took a step toward her, the expression on his face pure anger. "You were bored? So you decided to disobey my direct order and sneak off the ship?"

Zoe was beginning to grow concerned that the Captain might decide to take disciplinary measures against River right then and there. She didn't think creating a spectacle in the market would bode well for getting the job with Blackthorn. She moved to position herself between Mal and River.

"Captain, we need to get back to the ship and get ready for Blackthorn's visit. Besides, this is something best done in private."

Mal looked around at the crowd of spectators that was starting to gather to watch the little drama unfolding in front of the jeweler's stall. "You're right, Zoe. Come on, let's get back to the ship." He gestured for Zoe to lead the way, then followed, pulling River behind him with a firm grip on her arm. "You've gone too far this time, young lady. When we get back to _Serenity_, you're to go straight to your room and wait for me. I'm gonna blister your ass."

River was glad Mal hadn't turned to look back at her when he pronounced her sentence. She needed a moment to wipe the grin from her face. Her plan had worked. "Yes, sir."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

See Chapter 1 for disclosures and disclaimers

Warning: This chapter contains disciplinary spanking. If you don't like it, don't read it.

* * * * * *

"I'm telling you, Simon, we have to call the Captain and Zoe." Kaylee grabbed a radio out of its holder and started toward the open cargo hold door. "She's not on _Serenity_." Kaylee was almost to the door when Zoe walked in.

"Zoe, I was just about to call you and Mal." Kaylee rushed to her. "We can't find River . . ." Kaylee trailed off as Mal entered the cargo hold, pulling River behind him.

"Looks like we saved you a call." Mal let go of River's arm, and she went to stand behind Simon, who was standing in the middle of the room, a stunned expression on his face.

"River, where have you been? Why did you leave the ship?" He turned to look at his sister.

"Ain't got time for that now," Mal said. "River, go to your room. I'll deal with you later. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay put. You don't want me to have to come looking for you." Mal waited until River left the hold before turning to the other crew members. "Blackthorn will be here shortly to look at _Serenity_. If he likes what he sees, he'll give us a trial run to Boros. We've got to make sure she's presentable. Zoe, you see to the bridge. Kaylee take care of the engine room. Simon you look to the infirmary." He glanced up at Jayne who was coming down the stairs from the catwalk. "You take care of the cargo hold, and I'll take care of the kitchen. Ain't a lot that needs to be done, but I want _Serenity _to be perfect. No need to give Blackthorn any reason to change his mind about hirin' us. Let's get busy people."

* * * * *

Two hours later, the crew of _Serenity_ had secured a contract for a trial run to Boros and back. The cargo would be delivered the next morning. They would leave immediately thereafter to deliver it to Boros and would return to Arrowhead with a load of merchandise for Blackthorn. If everything went it was supposed to, they'd have a regular run. For the first time in a long while, Mal felt good about their prospects. But, his sense of accomplishment was tempered by his unfinished business with River. He didn't want to have to do it, but the time had come for him to take the matter of her disobedience more firmly in hand, so to speak.

As Mal passed through the kitchen on his way to River's room Simon moved to block his path. "What are you going to do to her?"

Mal stepped closer to Simon, intending to invade the young doctor's personal space and intimidate him into backing down. He really didn't want to have a confrontation with Simon now, but would if he had to. Simon didn't budge, but stood his ground.

"Why, doctor, I intend to give River a spanking she ain't likely to forget anytime soon."

"I can't allow you to do that, Captain." Simon moved closer to Mal, fully aware of what the Captain was attempting to do.

"I ain't askin' for your permission." Mal stepped around Simon. "Besides, you don't want to be tellin' me what to do onboard my ship, or I might just decide you need a good lickin' right along with your sister." He turned to enter the hallway to the passenger dorm, where, he hoped, River was obediently waiting for him in her room. Without pausing he glanced over his shoulder. "Get him out of here, Kaylee. Take him to your bunk or the engine room. I don't care where, just get him out of here. He don't need to hear this."

Kaylee moved to stand in front of Simon, blocking his path and preventing him from following Mal down the hallway. She knew things would only be made worse if Simon interfered now.

"Come on, Simon. Let's do what the Cap'n says." She took Simon's arm and started to pull him down the hallway in the opposite direction. Simon resisted, and Kaylee thought for a split second that he might push her aside to follow the Captain down the hallway. She tugged again at his arm, and Simon looked down at her.

"I can't allow him to hurt River."

"Simon, Mal ain't going to hurt River." She paused to reconsider her words in light of the fact that she had cause to know that a spanking from the Captain wasn't exactly like receiving love pats. "Well, not much anyway. I mean, that lickin' is gonna hurt, but she'll survive." Kaylee dropped her hand from Simon's arm. "And, I kinda think she deserves it, don't you."

Simon stared at Kaylee for a long moment. "What do you mean she deserves it. Nobody deserves to be hit."

Kaylee tilted her head slightly to look up into Simon's concerned eyes. "Weren't you ever spanked as a kid?"

"No." Simon shook his head. "Our parents didn't believe in physical punishment."

"Well, mine did." Kaylee gave a short laugh. "My pa gave me some whoopins you wouldn't believe. It hurt for a while afterward, but after he was finished, all was forgiven. No matter what I'd done to deserve the punishment. Mal's the same way. River disobeyed him. He has every right to punish her. Once he's done, River won't be sitting to comfortably for a few days, but all will be forgiven."

"How do you know he isn't just going to beat her." Simon moved away from Kaylee and started pacing.

Kaylee held out her hand to Simon and waited until he had moved to stand in front of her and had taken her hand in his to answer. "I know because he's given me a couple of lickin's and I survived. River will, too."

Simon didn't resist as Kaylee started walking down the hallway toward her bunk. She knew it was probably best to get him out of earshot of the passenger dorm before the Captain could begin delivering River's much deserved spanking.

* * * * *

River sat on her bed. Her back was against the wall, and her were wrapped around her bent knees. She was worried about what was to come. She knew getting a spanking from the Captain was the inevitable result of her actions and had been an essential part of her plan. But, now that it was a reality, the idea of it seemed a lot worse than she had anticipated.

The sound of her bedroom door opening caught her attention, and she looked up to see Mal enter her room. Her stomach clinched with nerves as she watched him close the door behind him. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and stared at her for what seemed like an eternity.

"Well, young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?"

River looked up at the Captain through the curtain of her hair. "I'm sorry?"

"An apology helps, but it's not gonna make this go away. I told you to stay in your room while Zoe and I were gone, didn't I."

"Yes, sir." River wasn't able to meet Mal's steady gaze, but spoke to her knees.

"But, you didn't do that. Instead, you snuck off the ship and went into the market." Mal paused to observe River for a moment. "You want to tell me the reason why you did that?"

River said nothing, but continued to study her knees.

Mal sighed and started toward the bed, rolling his shirt sleeves up as he went. "All right, then." He sat on the side of the bed. "You know I gotta spank you for this one."

"Yes, sir."

"Come on, let's get it over with." He patted the side of the bed, indicating that River should move to sit beside him. When she did so, Mal turned to look at her. "Do you understand why you're getting' this spanking, River?"

River nodded. "Because I disobeyed your orders and snuck off the ship." Although he hadn't called her on it, she felt compelled to fess up to her lie as well. "And, because I lied to you about why I did it."

"So why did you leave the ship"

"I can't tell you."

Mal sighed again. That was only slightly better than the lie. He really didn't want to do what he was about to do, but he had no choice. If he didn't do it, he was afraid River do something that would end up getting herself or someone else serious injured or killed. He took her by the arm and pulled her across his lap. With his left hand firm at the small of River's back, he brought his right hand down firmly on her backside.

River let out a gasp at the first smack. It surprised her more than hurt, but that first smack was quickly followed by others. Mal's large hand seemed to cover her entire backside with each smack. Soon her backside was on fire. Her gasp of surprise soon turned to exclamations of pain. She kicked her legs and tried to squirm her way off the Captain's lap -- anything the avoid the smacks that continued to rain down. Mal shifted her forward and pinned her legs under his right knee. He continued the relentless assault on her backside until he felt River had, indeed learned her lesson. Mal knew her backside must be on fire. He waited until she had calmed down enough to understand his next words and to give coherent answers.

"Now, I'm goin' ask you some questions and you're gonna answer. Do you understand me."

River nodded her head. "Yes, sir." She would agree to anything to make the spanking stop. She hadn't expected it to be pleasant, but she hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did.

"Good girl. Tell me again why you're getting this spanking."

Mal was barely able to understand her answer through the tears. "Because I left _Serenity_ after you told me to stay in my room."

"Yes." Mal delivered three hard swats to the tender area where River's legs met her backside. "What else."

"I lied to you about why I did it." Three more hard smacks were applied to her already inflamed backside.

"Are you ever going to do anything like that again?"

"No, sir." She received another half-dozen hard swats.

Mal rested his hand on her backside. His hand was on fire, so he could imagine how River's backside felt. "All right, it's over." He rubbed her back until she calmed down then pulled her up to sit on his lap. Mal hugged her to him, and continued to rub her back and comfort her. "It's okay, it's over. Everything is forgiven."

River leaned into Mal, accepting the comfort he was giving. She knew Mal cared for her, she read that in his thoughts. River had expected that, but she also read something she hadn't expected. Fear. Mal was afraid of what might have happened to her had he not found her in the market so quickly. She hadn't intended to tell him her plan, but she couldn't hold it back any longer.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I just wanted to be treated like everyone else on board _Serenity._"

River spoke so softly, Mal wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. He pushed her away from his chest so he could look into her tear-stained face. "Say that again."

River reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I just wanted to be treated like everyone else. You treat me like a china doll that you're afraid will break if you handle it too roughly. So, I had to do something to prove to you that I won't break."

"This was your plan all along, to make me spank you?" Mal shifted River off his lap onto the bed and stood to pace the room. "Just to prove to me that you won't break, so I'd treat you like I treat everyone else?"

River nodded.

Mal knew he had been treating River differently. He'd handled her with the proverbial kid gloves to keep from triggering anything that might send her back behind the mental shield she'd been hiding behind prior to discovering the secret about Miranda. He really didn't know how to respond to that. "You could have talked to me about it. Found some other way to convince me."

River shook her head. "You would have just patted me on the head and sent me on my way like a bothersome child."

Mal let out a snort of laughter. "Well, you certainly picked a fine way to prove your point. You know that since you've proven your point, I'm gonna expect you to behave now. And, if you don't we're gonna have repeat of what happened here today."

River smiled. "Yes, sir."

"Okay." He was still a bit confused about what had just happened. It would take some time to wrap his mind around what River had confessed to him. He moved to open the door to leave River's room. "I think it'd be best if you stayed in your room until dinner time."

"Yes, sir."

Mal left the room, closing the door behind him. River waited until she was sure he was well away from her room before standing up to rub her sore backside before moving to the mirror to inspect the damage. She smiled to herself – the sacrifice had been worth it. She truly felt like one of Mal's family.

_The end._

_This is River's story. Kaylee will get the chance to tell her tale later. _

Credit goes to .net and .com as the source for the Chinese phrases used in this story.


End file.
